118 Letters, Extracts, and Notes, [Ibis, 



being frightened in a small watet'hole near the shore, nearly 

 cleared the ground in its efforts to escape; I think it could 

 have done so had there been a favourable slope. 



" On January 20, at Port Stephens, a flock of these birds 

 on being frightened showed all stages of progress from the 

 flapping of a young Sheldrake to merely the feet touching. 



" Blaauw's paper does not convince one ; in fact^ we are 

 worse off than ever. His T. patachontcus agrees in appearance 

 with the only birds (perhaps thousands) that I saw on the 

 Falklands. His T. cinereus, with orange-yellow bill in both 

 sexes, perhaps does not exist at all. Is it not very rare in 

 Ducks sexually unlike in colour to both have the yellow bill 

 which so often characterizes the male ? 



" I rather doubt if these birds can ever be satisfactorily 

 differentiated, for it seems to me that this species is in the 

 midst of its transition from a flying to a non-flying form, as 

 in the Falklands it certainly exhibits every stage from mere 

 flapping to flights from the nest to the water, probably not 

 greatly exceeding half a mile. It Avould surprise me if a 

 satisfactory line could be drawn anywhere. Obviously the 

 flying birds are greatly in the minority throughout its 

 range, and if more exist in Tierra del Fuego and southern 

 Patagonia, it may be because it has become necessary in a 

 region where for ages they have had primitive man and other 

 natural enemies to contend with." 



Now in summing up my own opinion, which is only an 

 opinion, and no better than another's, I might add that 

 more work has got to be done in regions where the flying 

 birds can be found easily. Salvadori in the British Museum 

 Catalogue quoted G. E. Cox (Annals de la Universidad de 

 Chili, 1863) as to the presence of large numbers of flying 

 Steamer Ducks in several Andean lakes. So far as I know, 

 this observation has not been verified, but a search through 

 Chilian literature might bring out some interesting points. 



First, then, I should think that the theory of Dr. Cun- 

 ningham, which connects volant power with adolescence, 

 must certainly go by the board. 



Second. Volant Steamer Ducks appear to be more 



